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PAOK - Club: Club Facts

UEFA Conference League

Come tomorrow, we play the return game in the Conference League Round of Eight against PAOK FC. A spot in the Semi finals is at stake in this historic game. But what else do you need to know about the match? Find out with the Club Facts!

The fixture

Thursday marks European match number sixteen of this season, equalling the record from the 2015 European campaign, when Club stranded in the Round of Eight finals against later finalists Dnipro from Ukraine. In its history, Club has featured in Europe on 359 occasions, PAOK FC 234 times.

Six times before, Blue & Black made its way to Greece, with varying degrees of success. Three times Club came out on top, and just as many times FCB drew the short end. That includes a trip to Thessaloniki. In 2010, the away game against PAOK FC ended 1-1.

If we dig a little deeper into our European past, we see that Club won the first leg in a European knockout phase with 1-0 eleven times before, resulting in qualification for the next round six times. The same goes for this encounter: early on in the match Jutglà served Vetlesen after a long drawn-out attack, after which the midfielder neatly tucked in the 1-0. Despite the superiority and many chances (including a penalty kick), the score remained at 1-0.

The home win was win number eleven this season in Europe, also equaling the European campaign in 2015. Another striking statistic: the Belgians have scored in every game since the group stages, a feat no other team has managed this season.

Club will have to do without the suspended Maxim De Cuyper, Igor Thiago and Brandon Mechele on Thursday. For Brandon Mechele, this marks the end of a run of 46 consecutive games in which the defender has appeared in action.

Top striker in Europe is still Andreas Skov Olsen with 7 goals, the highest number of goals in one European season by a Club player (along with Joseph Akpala). The suspended Maxim De Cuyper has set up the most Bruges goals so far in Europe, with four assists.

This season, Club has already scored 119 goals. The highest number of goals ever scored in a single Brugge season is 136, the record of the 2015 season.

If Club can reach the Semis, it will do so for the first time in 32 years. Back in 1992, Club faced German Werder Bremen in the European Cup II Semi Finals. One year later, Antwerp was the last Belgian Club to reach a European semi final.

The winner of the game Fiorentina - Viktoria Pilzen (out game 0-0) at 18:45 will be Club's or PAOK's opponent in the semi finals.

The opponent

PAOK FC will be our opponent in the Round of Eight. The Greeks expect a full Toumba Stadium with over 28,000 fans, among them some 1,000 Club fans.

PAOK's home reputation boosts the Greeks' confidence. This season they are yet to lose a single home game in Europe (5 wins, 2 draws) and the last European defeat at home dates back to two years already (0-1 loss against Marseille in the Conference League Round of Eight). Moreover, in their last six home games, PAOK always scored at least two goals.

In the past, a 1-0 deficit from the first leg has been overturned on three occasions. In the previous round, PAOK itself lost the first leg game 2-0 to Dinamo Zagreb, only to see the team pull through at home winning 5-1.

The first leg game at Jan Breydel was the last game PAOK played. Rumanian coach Razvan Lucescu's troops were allowed to rest last weekend, after their play-off match against Olympiacos had been postponed. As a result, PAOK FC lost out on its lead as first pursuers AEK Athens and Panathinaikos both won their game on Match Day 5 of the playoffs. PAOK is now third in the table.

Milestones

  • Hans Vanaken can play his 440th official game for Club Brugge. He thus surpasses Club legend Timmy Simons who played 439 times for Club.
  • Philip Zinckernagel can be in action for Club for the 40th time. The Dane can also play the 20th European match of his career. He played 10 European matches for Club, 6 for Olympiacos FC (Gre) and 3 for FK Bodø/Glimt (Nor).
  • Nordin Jackers may be between the posts for the 10th time at Blauw-Zwart.
  • If Casper Nielsen gets fit, he can play the 20th European match for FCB.
  • Kyriani Sabbe can play his 10th European match for Club.

The referee

Italian referee Mr. Davide Massa was appointed ref for the match in Thessaloniki. He will be assisted by his compatriots Mr. Filippo Meli and Mr. Stefano Alassio.

The fourth official is Mr. Marco Di Bello and VAR on duty is Mr. Aleandro Di Paolo, assisted by Mr. Luca Pairetto.

The UEFA referee observer is Sweden's Mr. Martin Hansson. The UEFA representative is Mr. Milovan Đukanović from Montenegro.

Mr. Massa is a 42-year old UEFA elite ref (highest category). He hails from the northwestern Italian coastal city of Imperia. He has been whistling in Serie A since 2011 and at the international level for 10 years.

This will already be the fourth time he will conduct an official match of Club Brugge. He previously whistled Champions League matches at home against Atlético Madrid (0-0 in 2018), RB Leipzig (0-5 in 2021) and SL Benfica (0-2 in 2023).